‘They Worship Certain Trees, the Waters of Rivers,Hills and Mountain Valleys’

The Byzantine author Agathias (sixth century CE) states that the Alamanni are not yet Christians but venerate nature instead. In scholarship, this passage is used as evidence of ‘nature worship’ in the late paganism of this Germanic tribe. However, in-depth analysis suggests a more nuanced picture. On the one hand, nature worship is a classical topos for the religion of barbaric peoples. On the other hand, archaeological and other textual sources give the impression that the Alamanni of Agathias’ day may already have been partially Christianized and might, in fact, have been in a phase of syncretism leaning toward Christianity rather than being ‘staunchly heathen’, as they are often portrayed. Agathias’ claim of a pagan Alamannic nature worship therefore should be seen as a stereotypical projection by this Byzantine author rather than a reflection of genuine Alamannic religious attitudes.